Royal Bank leaving longtime downtown home -- but staying in core

The Royal Bank is moving from the downtown building that bears its name.

The bank will shuffle north from its main branch at 383 Richmond St. to the Talbot Centre at 465 Richmond St. The move will consolidate its main branch with the RBC Dominion Securities division, according to a statement from Heather Austin, regional vice-president for the London market.

“Talbot Centre is where many of our clients are already interacting with us and is also home to RBC Dominion Securities. Our new location will offer clients and employees the latest technology, ample parking and office space for all partners,” she said.

The move to Talbot Centre — located at Richmond and Fullarton streets, near the Grand Theatre — will happen in the fall of 2019.

There will be no job cuts as a result of the move, she added.

The building that’s long been home to the bank at Richmond and King streets adjacent to Covent Garden Market is owned by Shmuel Farhi.

He downplayed the loss of a tenant that took up about 30,000 square feet of space. “Unfortunately, the recent decision by RBC to relocate came suddenly without any substantial communication with us,” he said in a written statement.

“Having said that, we are in negotiations with some exceptional and exciting new prospective tenants and I can say that it has to do with city improvements like the Dundas Place project, the towers going up, the presence of Fanshawe College, and the burgeoning tech sector in London which should not be underestimated.”

The RBC building still has several tenants. “We are very optimistic about the future of downtown London,” the statement said. “With the public and private investments that are being made we believe the next few years will be transformative and we are excited to be a part of it.”

RBC Dominion Securities now also has about 30,000 sq. ft. leased at the Talbot Centre.

The bank will also open a new branch at the intersection of Wonderland and Oxford streets late in 2019, said Austin.

“Branches will continue to play an important role in our presence in London and we will continue to build on that presence through events, sponsorships, presentations, mobile advisors and digital and advice centre options.” she said.